I was one of the posters that had my doubts about the USO plot point and seeing it in the context of the film did not allay my doubts. I thought it was the weakest point of the film. I felt it stopped a very entertaining film dead in it's tracks, fortunately once the USO was out of the way it recovered very nicely.

I could not buy into Steve Rogers, based on his character development in the film, volunteering for it. He was unwilling to accept any compromise in what he felt his duty was to the war effort before the serum; why would he accept it after the serum.

I never got any indication that he was used in the USO because he was too valuable to risk in battle, rather that Colonel Phillips deemed him useless as a one man super-soldier army. I realize that as written Steve's choice was the USO or a "lab", but it could have been written different. That he would be ordered to undergo testing and training to determine exactly what the serum had done to him. He was the first and any other course just makes no sense. This would give the opportunity to define to the audience what he had become, i.e. how fast, how strong, etc., allow for teaching him the skills he seemed to "magically" develop. IMO a training montage detailing the amazing things he can do, making the doubters believers, would have been more entertaining than the song and dance. He could still decide to go AWOL to perform the rescue.

As stated from the get go the USO plot point was justification for the Captain America outfit. The rationale being why would anyone use the stars and stripes for inspiration. I find that logic flawed from the get go. I dare say the stars and stripes inspired graphic designs were plastered everywhere on WWII hardware by GIs. HYDRA had it's symbol Cap would have his.

I rated the film 9/10, because of the USO point; obviously 9/10 ain't to shabby, and indicative that the USO did not ruin my appreciation for the film, it wasn't as detrimental as I feared, but I still feel it was wasted film time nonetheless.

The USO sequence was my favorite part of the movie, which is saying something because I loved every damn second of it. But there was just something so great about it, and the way it created the persona of Captain America for Steve to take out into the war was really cool.

__________________"All I really need to know is this: Batman always comes back, bigger and better, shiny and new. Batman never dies. It never ends. It probably never will."

I thought the scenes turned out OK, but honestly they aren't my favorite. I could do without them being in the movie OR just tone it down and not do so much of it. I get why they are there, they just don't work too much for me. Oh well. I can deal.

I won't go saying they are like OMG best part of the movie. It's a neat little thing in there, but its not as effective as say Spidey as a pro wrestler in 2002 Spider-Man movie.

I'm so surprised that a lot of people didn't like this scene or thought it went on too long...as I thought it was flawless and pretty much the embodiment of everything cap should be. More than action, more than the super soldier plot, he is above all a figure head, created in the 40's to rally everyone to the cause (collect that scrap metal kid!). This moment of the film was meta because other than the black and white films and the USO shows, the scenes of the comic books and of cap as an american celebrity and icon in the face of war is excatly what he really was. I love the historical angle of this character; one of the reasons I'm a fan.

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I thought the scenes turned out OK, but honestly they aren't my favorite. I could do without them being in the movie OR just tone it down and not do so much of it. I get why they are there, they just don't work too much for me. Oh well. I can deal.

I won't go saying they are like OMG best part of the movie. It's a neat little thing in there, but its not as effective as say Spidey as a pro wrestler in 2002 Spider-Man movie.

I didn't find that effective at all. Especially with the bad attempts at humor.

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I was probably the biggest hater of the whole USO scene idea and I actually loved the angle the way they played it off in the movie. I actually think performing live as Captain America was good for Steve, it helped him develop a presence that made him a leader once he really got into combat. Plus he was never ashamed of it, it's just that he wanted to fight. I'm glad, really glad, to admit that I was wrong. Great scenes and good fun. The costume didn't even look that bad.

I was actually going to start a thread asking all the people who had doubts about the USO theme whether they were now willing to eat crow, but now I have this convenient thread in which I can apparently say the same thing a lot of other people are saying.

It's true, I remember how many people were worried once we heard about the USO scene. People were afraid of seeing Cap "singing and dancing". Most ominously, they thought that by putting Cap in the original Kirby costume, in a ridiculous context - as Joe Johnston said, where Cap would "himself feel like an idiot when he wore it" - the director was basically saying how little respect he had for the source material.

I think we can all agree that what eventually showed up on screen was a very pleasant surprise. To me, it actually strengthened the portrayal of Steve Rogers' character. People have asked why he ended up doing it, but to be fair, his commanding officers basically gave him two choices in the movie - as Peggy stated, to be a "lab rat or a dancing monkey". If anything, it strengthened one of the core themes of the movie - Steve's desire to serve his country but being prevented from doing so, or at least in the way he imagined. The movie begins with him wanting to join the war effort, but not being able to do so due to his weak physical condition. The USO element extends this: even after he gets buffed out from the Super Soldier Serum, Steve is still prevented from joining his countrymen on the front lines. Despite his miraculous transformation, he still hasn't got what he wanted; he's still separated from all the ordinary Joes fighting the war effort. In my opinion, it makes his eventual decision to go AWOL behind enemy lines to save Bucky that much more powerful.

Beyond that, the montage was funny, entertaining and touched on the historical purpose of the Captain America character - as a propaganda creation and a symbol of America's fighting spirit. And let's not forget that terrifically catchy Alan Menken song, which surely makes it all worthwhile.

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